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Thomas Rotler
Erwin Adolphus Thomas Rotler, better known as Thomas Rotler (April 20, 1886-September 11, 1973), was a German military pioneer, military general and politician. He is best known for his time as Chancellor of the German Republic (January 2, 1932-November 19, 1967), where he transformed Germany into a global superpower by converting it into a one-party dictatorship (the Falken Party), with its politics governed unabashedly by Rotler's personal whims. An ardent student of military engineering and a self-proclaimed revolutionary, Rotler was born on April 20, 1886 in Rostock , starting his life as an engineer. From there he would pioneer and champion the German air force, or Luftwaffe , which he would use to great effect in his later military campaigns. After World War I , Rotler became active in politics, becoming an early member of the National Socialist Party in 1921. He became close friends with leader Adolf Hitler , helping him and the Nazis gain prominence in Germany. As a result, German political leaders grew fearful of the Nazis and eventually organized the assassination of Hitler and many of his closest cohorts, though Rotler managed to escape by going into hiding. He then reorganized the Nazis as the Falken Party in 1931, using it to seize power dramatically when he and the Falken marched on the Reichstag and burned it to the ground while it was in session, killing all inside by barricading its exits. He then established a one-party dictatorship in Germany, from which he would restore the country to greatness after resoundingly winning World War II . Rotler would remain in power until the very last years of his life, when his declining health meant he could no longer hold his adversaries at bay. Put on trial for his party's numerous human rights abuses and eventually convicted, Rotler died in prison in 1973 at the age of 87. Early life and World War I Thomas Rotler was born Rostock, Germany on April 20, 1886 to Otto Rotler, an engineer, and Lisa Rotler (nee Horst), a painter and schoolteahcer. From a very early age, Thomas Rotler displayed a fascination with engines and motor vehicles, constantly telling his father that one day he was going to create a "car that could fly". In his teens, Rotler studied advances in aircraft and even apprenticed for airship expert Ferdinand von Zeppelin for a time. Rotler would study aviation and engineering at the University of Munich from 1905 to 1910. It is here where he gained his first interest in the military, as the buildup for what would eventually lead to World War I piqued his interest. He enlisted in the German Army upon finishing school in 1911, joining the nascent German Imperial Air Force (which later became the Luftwaffe) in 1912. Though his skills as a pilot left a lot to be desired, his engineering smarts would prove valuable, as the Germans would use his designs to improve their military aircraft immensely. Towards the end of the war, it was the heroics of the German air force through Rotler's planes that allowed them to continue fighting after the failures of the infantry, though dwindling resources would eventually force Germany's hand in 1918. Early political life and Nazi Party Towards the end of the war, Rotler was one of the few in the military who refused to give up, a stubbornness that would come to define Rotler throughout his life. When Germany capitulated on November 11, 1918, Rotler denounced the move, believing the Germans "gave up too soon". Many in Germany disagreed, hoping to simply move on from the destructive war. Passions would soon be inflamed in Germany a year later when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The Treaty and its onerous conditions that it placed on Germany became a lightning rod of contention amongst the German people, who started to believe their new government, the Western-style "Weimar Republic", was too weak. Rotler was among the Weimar's fiercest detractors, and he soon began to look for others who would help him overthrow it. He did not have to wait long. In 1921, one of his friends from the military, Adolf Hitler, invited him to become part of his new party, the National Socialist Party ("Nazi" for short), an offer Rotler quickly accepted. Rotler soon rose amongst the ranks of the Nazis, where he would often be referred to as Hitler's "right hand man", although Hitler, as was his nature, did not trust Rotler very much. Hitler would alternate being friendly towards Rotler and being distant, and it was because of this that Rotler did not participate in the Beer Hall Putsch and thus avoided jail time. Rotler, though, would prove to be instrumental in getting Hitler out of jail, using his charm in front of a judge to convince him to provide Hitler with his early release. After his release from jail, Hitler wanted to try the Putsch again but Rotler talked him out of it, convincing him that gaining power through "legitimate" means was better in the long run. Hitler was skeptical at first, but the effectiveness of Nazi campaigning under Rotler's watch led to increasing Nazi fortunes. The German nation soon began seeing the Nazis as a viable political force, as Hitler and the Nazis often talked the language that made most sense to a literally starving German electorate- jobs. However, the Nazis' political rivals saw the party's unabashed use of anti-Semitism and strident German nationalism as "alarming" and began mobilizing to counter the Nazi rise. Eventually, when a 1930 opinion poll put the Nazis well in front of the other parties in the electoral race, the Nazis' enemies began to conspire to literally eliminate them, believing they had no other choice. Assassination of Hitler One party, the German Communist Party (a frequent target of Hitler's), hired a private investigator to find the Nazi Party's membership roll and give the names to an assassin. Throughout the first half of 1930, several Nazis were murdered by the assassin, Ernest von Klassen, though the Nazis' lack of support among legal authorities meant no one investigated the crimes. Meanwhile, as the bodies piled up, Rotler, Hitler and many other party officials went into hiding. Rotler fled to Austria after befriending Austrian General Hans Landa who, while indifferent to the Nazi cause, was troubled by the anti-democratic actions of its opponents. Due to Landa's calm, easy-going nature, he and Rotler quickly became close friends, as Rotler, a notorious overthinker, found Landa to be calming influence. It was during his time with Landa that Rotler would develop the confidence that allowed him to truly envision himself as leader of Germany. Since communications were difficult, Rotler and Hitler soon fell apart, as the process was deemed too arduous to continue. As a result of this falling apart, Rotler- with the suggestion of Landa- began to feel that Hitler was "holding back" the Nazi movement. Where Rotler once admired Hitler's energetic and impassioned speeches, Rotler came to believe that they became polarizing, as they allowed Hitler's opponents to paint him as a madman. This would, in turn, create the perception within the German people that the Nazi Party was also composed of madmen, an uncontrollable mob that could rant and rave but never govern. To Rotler, the more he thought about it, the more Hitler became the problem.